Speak Now
by beMMADfabulous
Summary: Based on the Taylor Swift song of the same name. Niles is getting married. C.C. shows up to the wedding as an uninvited guest.


**A/N: This story has been in my head for over 5 years now. I think of them every time I listen to the song "Speak Now" by Taylor Swift, so I felt as though I had to finally write out the story. I hope you enjoy it. Keep your eye out for the Sound of Music quote, too.**

 **Speak Now**

C.C. kept her eyes low as she ascended the brick stairs to the church. With each step she took, the weight in her chest became harder and harder to carry. Upon entering the foyer of the sanctuary, C.C. thought fast and lost herself in the crowd to avoid being confronted with a guest list that was no doubt lacking in her name. She held her breath as she nimbly slipped through a side door, praying that no one would notice her.

C.C. lingered behind the decorative gauze curtains hung in the corners of the room as she took several deep breaths in an attempt to slow her wildly hammering heart. Her eyes scanned the crowd, finding no familiar face. She grimaced at the sickeningly washed-out pastel pinks and murky cream colors surrounding her.

C.C. nearly bolted as she distinctly heard a female voice shrieking from somewhere behind a closed door to the left of her. She remembered a phrase Nanny Fine had often used: _Bridezilla_. C.C. cringed. She took the opportunity to quickly sink into an empty chair at the end of the aisle. The older woman sitting at C.C.'s right turned to gawk at her.

"What a _lovely_ dress," the stranger commented, looking her up and down with obvious distaste.

The way she forced the word "lovely" through gritted teeth sounded the same as the "lovely" C.C. remembered her mother using to describe her father's mistress.

Before she could reply, the pipe organ began playing what C.C. assumed was supposed to be the wedding march but which sounded distinctly like a funeral dirge in the hands of the bride's musically talentless great aunt. Everything became a blur as the flower girl began tossing rose petals down the aisle. When C.C. saw the bridesmaid's Pepto Bismol-colored frilly dresses, she knew for certain that this wedding couldn't have possibly been what Niles thought it would be.

The moment he entered the room, C.C.'s breath hitched in her throat. It took every shred of self-control she could muster to keep herself from running down the aisle after him. A sinking feeling in the pit of C.C.'s stomach gripped her again as Niles stood solemnly at the alter waiting for his bride.

The guests and C.C. rose to their feet as the bride prepared to enter. C.C. felt her entire body flush with heat as the bride floated down the aisle in what C.C. could only describe as a cupcake dress. She watched as Niles made eye contact with his bride, and she saw nothing but an emptiness in his face and a dullness in the depth of his eyes as the betrothed joined hands.

C.C. clenched her clammy hands tightly together as she and the guests sat. The priest's words dragged on and on. She could barely hear the ceremony over the pounding of her own heart. Then… the words were so clear to her, as if they were being spoken right into her ear…

"If anyone can show just cause why this couple cannot lawfully be joined together in matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

There was a pause. C.C. rose. Her hands were shaking. Her legs were quavering. Heads snapped in her direction. The guests looked horrified as the realization of what was about to happen became clear. The bride shrieked once more.

"I object," she spoke, louder than she had intended.

With a collective gasp from the crowd, a look of surprise at seeing C.C. washed over Niles' face, which turned to shock as he too processed what had just transpired.

"On what grounds?" the priest inquired, his brows knitted tightly together.

C.C. cleared her throat, ignoring the continued horror from the crowd. She knew she had no real legal grounds against the marriage. "I'm in love with the groom" was hardly sufficient, after all. So, she did the only thing she knew to do in such a moment… she _ran_.

She ran past the stale pastel blur of the bride's snooty friends and family… past the ridiculous gauzy curtains… C.C. didn't quite know where she was running, but she was certain she wanted to be anywhere but here.

Once her heels hit the church lawn, C.C.'s legs began to wobble. Still, she had to keep running. Her mind whirring, she looked over her shoulder, half expecting there to be a mob running after her from the church.

The air was knocked out of her lungs as she collided abruptly with a man in a tuxedo. Her legs collapsed, but a pair of strong arms steadied her before she fell to the ground.

"Where are you running to?"

The tone was even and warm with a hit of amusement tugging at the corners.

" _Niles_ ," she gasped. "I-I…"

C.C. shut her eyes tightly for a moment, willing this all to be a terrible dream that she could wake up from.

"Breathe," he instructed her calmly.

He released her carefully, as if preparing to have to catch her from falling again.

"What just happened?" he asked her.

C.C. shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "Well, he said 'speak now'."

The chuckle that erupted from Niles warmed her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

"Don't you have a bride to attend to?"

"No," he replied simply.

C.C.'s eyes widened as she searched his face for an answer.

"Why not?" she asked, her voice breaking.

Niles shrugged.

"Well, you can't marry someone when you're in love with someone else… can you?"

He flashed her a half smile as he gingerly tucked a strand of golden hair back behind her ear. C.C. felt the warm tingle in her body return as Niles took her hands into his own. He moved to place a soft kiss onto her cheek, but she stopped him… and caught his lips with her own instead.

"You know, I shouldn't be too surprised," he said with a laugh. "You never have been good with 'forever hold your peace'."

 **The End**


End file.
